Content and comprehensiveness in the MMPI: An item factor analysis in a normal adult sample.

Abstract

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) has become the most widely used instrument for personality measurement, although it was designed primarily to aid in the diagnosis of psychopathology. Several hundred research scales have been derived from the MMPI, despite the fact that until recently the size of the item pool precluded an adequate empirical analysis of its item content. To define its psychological content dimensions and evaluate the comprehensiveness of its items, we performed a principal components analysis of the 550 MMPI items on a sample of 1,576 male and female patients referred for coronary angiography. After an attempt to replicate Johnson, Butcher, Null, and Johnson's (1984) 21-factor solution failed, nine orthogonally rotated components were interpreted. Agreement was found between a number of studies on several factors, including neuroticism, somatic complaints, cynicism, and religious orthodoxy. However, only one of the five personality dimensions identified by Norman (1963) was adequately represented. The nine factor scales identified in this analysis may be useful as an alternative way of scoring the test, especially for longitudinal studies with archival MMPI data sets. In the future, it would be advisable to supplement the MMPI with instruments that measure a broader range of normal personality characteristics.

Cynicism in the workplace: some causes and effects

“…In some instances, cynicism re¯ects a basic philosophy about human nature, a general attitude that one cannot depend on other people to be trustworthy and sincere (Costa, Zonderman, McCrae and Williams, 1985;Wrightsman, 1992). On other occasions, cynicism has speci®c objects, such as work, big business, particular industries, single ®rms, labor unions, or management (Lipset and Schneider, 1983;Kanter and Mirvis, 1989;Regoli, Crank and Rivera, 1990;Stern et al, 1990).…”

Neuroticism, cognitive ability, and the metabolic syndrome: The Vietnam Experience Study

“…Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) (32) was administered, which consists of 566 true-false statements used to measure 10 clinical psychopathology scales, including neuroticism dimensions (33,34). To obtain a better neuroticism measure, 24 overlapping items similar to neuroticism were identified, which did not reflect phobias, health, health-related behaviours, or prevalent psychopathology (16).…”

Replicated item level factor structure of the MMPI: Racial and sexual differences

“…Results of this research indicated that most MMPI scales contain multiple factors. This suggests that traditional MMPI interpretations based on profiles of standard scale scores ignore an underlying factor structure that may constitute a potentially rich and valuable source of information about client/patient behavior and personality dynamics (Dahlstrom, Welsh, & Dahlstrom, 1975).…”

“…A second analysis of the entire item set has been completed by Costa et al (1985). This study utilized a sample of 1,567 patients referred to a medical center for coronary arteriography.…”